After His Last Case
by Hobbit4Lyfe
Summary: Goren, relaxing after being fired from Major Case Squad? Is it too good to be true? Yeah, I thought so, too. Crime can't seem to give him a break... Especially a criminal everyone thought was dead. I'm kinda making this up as I go along, and now Holmes and Watson are suddenly involved by Moriarty. Set during the winter between L&O:CI "Loyalty, Part 2" and season 10. Please review.
1. The Call

Former New York detective Robert Goren sat next to the fire in the den of the cabin after a day of skiing. It wasn't a completely old-fashioned log cabin. It was a log cabin, but it was fairly modern on the inside.

It was the winter after he'd been released from the Major Case Squad, by his own partner, no less. It had been a shock at first, but he knew he'd pull through. He'd experienced hardship before.

Before he tried to find work again, if he ever could, he decided to take a little vacation. He wasn't sure why he decided on skiing. He was even less sure why he chose the Bryce Mountain Resort in Virginia. He didn't even know that there were ski resorts in Virginia. He guessed it seemed like a good idea when his friends from Long Island suggested that he rent out the cabin that the woman's family owned.

He was getting ready to doze off when the phone rang. He crossed through the open kitchen/dining room attached to the den and answered the phone.

He about dropped it when a familiar voice started speaking.

"Hello, Bobby," she said. "I hear you're no longer working with the police. I can't believe it. I feel so sorry for you."

_Yeah, I bet you do,_ he thought.

"Anyway, I thought I would call and say hello. I'll be at the little café at the bottom of the slopes later this evening if you want to meet me there so you can share your feelings about this tragic incident."

The line went dead.


	2. The Decision

Goren went back to one of the chairs by the fire in the den.

He had a bad feeling that the call he'd just received was a setup. Or maybe it was someone's idea of a bad prank. Or, most likely, it was more along the lines of the idea that his mind was playing tricks on him, or that he was finally losing it, or both. He'd been getting some really stressful and crazy cases as his former career went on.

At least, he hoped it was one of those options.

He contemplated going to the café to see if there was any credibility to that call. He contemplated calling his former partner, Alex Eames, for advice and possible backup. He called Eames, both at home and on her cell phone, but had to leave a voice mail both times. He waited. He again considered going to the café.

After a long period of waiting for a return call from Eames, he decided, somewhat rashly, on his own, to go to the café and see if he could find anything out.


	3. A Missed Call

Alexandra Eames finally remembered to turn her cell phone on. Normally she wasn't forgetful enough to leave it off, but it had been one of those mornings where she was really busy.

After the phone finished turning on, there was a short ringtone announcing a missed call from earlier that afternoon.

Glancing at the number that showed up on her phone, she thought, _Bobby agreed to break off contact. Why did he call?_

Reluctantly, she listened to the voicemail.

"Alex, hi, it's Robert. I know I shouldn't be calling, but I thought I had to. I guess you're not at home and you don't have your cell on. If you are home or you do have your cell on, I totally understand if you're ignoring me. Look, I just got this really strange call from someone that's supposed to be dead. I think I might check it out, but I need backup. I know you probably won't come, but it was worth a try anyway, right?" The message ended.

Alex paid for the coffee she'd just ordered and left the little café. She got in the car and headed for Interstate 95 South to Virginia.


	4. A Bad Idea

The sun was setting as Goren walked up to the café. It had taken a while, since he had stupidly walked down the mountain his cabin was on to get down to the café.

As he approached the building, he again questioned his own sanity. His police training told him never follow up on a suspicious lead alone. Heck, _common sense_ told him never to follow up on a suspicious lead alone.

And yet, here he was, following up on a suspicious phone call. Alone.

_Brilliant idea, Robert,_ he thought. _Following leads like this is part of what always got you in trouble._

"You're late," a smooth female voice said from the shadows of a doorway. "Actually, I'm a bit surprised you came."

"Actually, so am I, Nicole. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?"


	5. The Note on the Door

Just after the sun set, Eames arrived at the cabin Goren told her that he was staying at. She got out of the car and walked up to the door, only to find it locked with a note taped to it.

_Of course he already left_, she said to herself. _I should've known._

She took the note off the door and tried to read it in the dim porch light that had been left on.

_Alex_, she read. _Gone to the café at the bottom of the hill to check on that call I got. Meet me there if I'm gone by the time you get this._

She went back to her car. Once she was inside again, she crumpled up the note and tossed it onto the floor of the front passenger side.

As she drove back down the mountain to the café she'd passed coming into the resort, she thought _the bottom of the hill, my foot. I hope I don't regret this._


	6. Nicole at the Cafe

"Who told you that I was dead?" Nicole asked.

"An old friend of mine," Goren told her. "And the Medical Examiner that checked out the heart that was left in a package for me."

"Oh, no, that wasn't me. They must've been talking about my twin sister."

_Oh, yeah? What twin sister?_ Goren thought, sitting down at a table, across from Nicole. "I'm sure you know that nobody in any of the police investigations relating to you has come across anything about you having a twin."

"How do you know that those records they found weren't falsified? Or that ones that existed weren't destroyed?"

"How do I know that you're actually telling me the truth for once?"

"Enough about me," Nicole said, changing the subject. "I invited you here to talk about you, remember?"


	7. The Vanishing Woman

Two bright lights flashed and reflected off of a nearby window.

"You didn't bring in backup, did you?" Nicole asked Goren, realizing the lights were car headlights.

"It's protocol. You know that."

"You aren't a detective anymore, remember?"

"Right…" Goren turned to see who had pulled up. "Anyway, I didn't expect anyone to show up…" His voice trailed off as he turned back around, only to find the seat across from him empty.

A door slammed as Eames got out of her car and walked over to the table. "Why didn't you wait?" she asked.

"I thought you'd show up earlier, if at all!"

"What are you even doing out here, in the dark and the freezing weather? Don't you know it's the middle of winter?"

"Oh, come on! We're from New York! We've seen worse winters. Didn't I say I got a lead?"

Alex looked annoyed. "A suspicious lead? Yeah, you said."

"And now you've scared Nicole away, Alex."

"Nicole Wallace? You're kidding, right?" Goren gave her a look that said he was completely serious. "Oh, come on, Bobby! You and I are the only two people crazy enough to be out here right now!"

"I know we're the only ones out here. I just said that! You should know by now that Nicole's been more interested in messing with me than with you."

"Messing with you is right! Someone must be. Or you're only messing with yourself."

"You think I haven't thought of that all day before I came down here?"


	8. Moriarty

A cell phone rang. A sharp-faced, dark-haired man answered it.

"The plan has been set into motion," a voice on the other end said. "The American detective has gone out to the café. The woman he works with just arrived, and he's trying to convince her that he's sane."

The sharp-faced man's mouth curled into a wicked smile. "Excellent. Now I'll get our consulting detective friend going."

He clicked the phone shut.


End file.
